TITLE CHANGE BABES

Yes, once again we wave goodbye to another title and hello to a new one; I find Eat Up My Music more cute, but the Myspace is still the same address- www.myspace.com/theantimusic .
Anyway, to celebrate the new title, and as a sorry for not posting in about a year, here's an uber-post.

FOALS/HOLY FUCK/DANANANANAYKROYD- Brixton Academy 16/10/08
The Brixton queue is packed on a Thursday night- everyone there seems to be attractive, well dressed and smoking- basically loads of kids looking badass. Not surprising, seeing as Foals managed to get a big enough crowd to break the barriers at the Underage in August. Tonight, however, I have a feeling it'll be more epic- this is, after all, the sell-out end of tour show for Foals, rather than yet another festival.
Foals have come far since 'Hummer' was released in 2007; by 'coming far', I mean when I mention them in conversation with less musically educated friends (musical retards to us snobs), they'll go 'oh yeah, they were on Skins', rather than 'who the fuck are they? Shut up.' After breaking the mainstream mould with a Skins appearance, Foals set up a summer of festival appearances, TV spots and radio airplay. 'Cassius' became a summer anthem, despite no one actually knowing what the fuck it's about ('the Lighthouse was an accident'?!).
Dananananaykroyd opened the show with an epic performance. To be honest, I'd never actually bothered to sit down and listen to this band before. They're one of those names you see popping up everywhere with various good support slots but never hear all that much talk of. However, after a crazy performance like that, I have to tell you to give them a listen. With a sexy front man, two drummers and a bassist who looks like she wants to kill someone, how could Dananananaykroyd do any wrong? Admittedly they were heckled by some shitends in the crowd, but support bands will always get that.
Following Dananananaykroyd were electro pioneers Holy Fuck. 'Milkshake' and 'Super Inuit' are my Holy Fuck favorites but I can't say I really enjoyed their live set that much. The band looked really into what they were doing and were so focused on making the perfect, exact noises, I don't think they looked at the audience once. What Dananananaykroyd perhaps lacked in structure was made up for with interaction from the band- however good Holy Fuck's music is, it was impossible to properly get into when it just seemed like a band practise to them. All this said, if you're not up for jumping about at shows, I recommend this band for a more laid back performance- their music is sick too.
Finally came Foals, in all their glory. Judging by the surrounding crowd's conversations, some people were less than pleased with the support bands and everyone was ready for foals. From the opening song to the great finale, Foals poured a constant flow of panging guitars, strange lyrics and strange ringing noises out into the world and let the kids tear each other apart to them. I can't ever imagine what Yannis is thinking but he always looks so scared when there's footage of him on TV. I can't say I blame him.
The entire thing ended with a right shebang. Holy Fuck, Dananananaykroyd and Foals all played 'Two Steps Twice' in some sort of multi-drum, musical orgy. With everyone on stage, this was a truly superb sendoff from a truly superb show.

Report: Youtube Covers

So I've been a bit of a Youtube herm lately- Myspace is becoming a bore and I'm pretty sure no one reads this and looking at other people's Facebook photos eventually becomes tedious, believe it or not.
Anyway, since I finally got myself a youtube account (eargasmicc), I've been commenting the hell out of anything I can watch. Particularly, I've developed a 'cover fetish'. Sometimes a Youtube nobody can really outdo an original song! Here are a selection of my favorites so far:



Cold War Kids - We Used to Vacation acoustic cover
(By crazy guy. seems very into it)


Los Campesinos! - Death to Los Campesinos! Cover on Piano
(This has no lyrics, but still awesome)



The Strokes - Someday covered on a strange electronic thing by Lightspeed Champion and a random.


Mystery Jets- Flakes covered by Florence and the Machine

As she's done with other covers in the past, she changes the song completely in the simplest ways. Mind blowing.

Message if you find any more I might enjoy!

jumping on the band-wagon (pun intended)

Fan Death

These guys have been popping up all over the better-known blogs, being tipped as 'big for 2009'. I have to say, their songs are really, really catchy and after just a few listens you'll be hooked. However, I can't see them being as big as everyone else things.. but anyway, I'm jumping on the bloggers 'band-wagon' (oh dear) by also tipping these guys for the top. They sound like MGMT, CSS and Ipso Facto fused together in a musical sex-orgy. Check them out and expect to be disco-dancing to 'Veronica's Veil' very, very soon.

Rating: Eargasmic!

EG x

new discoveries

September sucks, doesn't it? After what's always a shitty English summer, we have to return to school, college or uni. Alright, so if you're starting somewhere new that's exciting, but when it comes down to it it's just more work, more exams and more of what you left in the last educational institution. Sorry, did I ruin your high spirits?

Hopefully some new discoveries will put your good mood back.
I recently stumbled across the incredible Snowman, made of multi-instrumentalists. There's very little information about this Aussie band around at the moment- it was difficult to hunt down their myspace. Their music is simply mind-blowing- each song is a completely different style and genre. 'We Are the Plague', their most popular song, sounds like Joy Division on acid- haunting vocals with simplistic backing music. 'Our Mother (She Remembers)' sounds like nothing in the world ever before- like white noise, weird synth and vicious vocals. Difficult to describe so just give it a listen.
Have-to-hear tracks include
We are the Plague
Our Mother (she remembers)
The Blood of the Swan


My Robot Friend is someone THE ANTI caught through Last Fm as they were offering free downloads of 'Problems'. This one isn't up on MRF's Myspace, but some other good tunes are. MRF is an art-music project that's been going since 2001. Sounding a bit like drum and bass-electro with 80's Dan Le Sac vocals, MRF is for electro-lovers. A lot of songs wouldn't sound out of place on a Mighty Boosh episode, and My Robot Friend likes to have fun with it's lyrics and noises.
Have a listen to;
Problems ( by far the best track and available to download for free)
Way Down
and all the tracks up on the Myspace, especially Robot High School.


If you haven't read about Coco recently then where the hell have you been? She's been all over the trashy news papers recently over her being in a tent with Pete Doherty at Glasto. SHOCK HORROR. If you've read all the allegations in the papers, you'll have also read that her dad's Sting. How cool?! Very cool. Anyway apparently Sting was 'fuming' about Coco hanging out with Pete-the-sleaze Doherty, so maybe she'll be locked up in her room making more tracks like the lovely collection on her myspace? Maybe? Maybe not.
Anyway have a listen to 'I Blame Coco', it'll get stuck in your head for days, plus it's available to download for free.

We are always looking for new bands, so leave us a comment on the myspace or comment any post
THE ANTI x

Fantasy Black Channel

On 11th August, Late of the Pier's long-anticipated debut was released. FINALLY! The days of listening to the bad-quality zarcorp demos are now over, as we can enjoy almost every song featured on the high-standard badly-recorded demo, in gleaming disk form.
The first two tracks blend together in a seamless fusion, which gives the record a professional feel prehaps not before associated with Late of the Pier.
The tracklisting is as follows, in bold are ANTI favirotes;

Hot Tent Blues
Broken
Space And The Woods
The Bears Are Coming
Random Girl
Heartbeat
Whitesnake
VW
Focker
The Enemy Are The Future
Mad Dogs And Englishmen
Bathroom Gurgle

If you haven't already, go out and buy this. You'll need it in disk form for the album sleeve's lyrics, as some vocals are a little hard to identify. Also CDS generally feel nicer than invisible unforgiving MP3 files.
One complaint we have is that LOTP didn't include 'circular' from the original demo, which is a brilliant Nirvana-meets-Joy Division-meets Queen genre-bashing song. Hoping to see this on the (cross fingers there will be one) second album or B side to the next single.

THE UNDERAGE FESTIVAL

Ok, Ok so it's a week late (sorry, over that) but THE ANTI has had a blogging break and is now going to bring you an Underage review in top form.

On 08/08/08, a funny date, a wonderful thing happened. Kids usually having to blag their way into gigs or be turned away at the door were bought together in a musical celebration of what it is to be young.

To anyone who attended the festival, the picture above should look familiar. The queues stretched right across Victoria park hours before the gates open- not brilliant for impatient teenagers.
The lineup included huge names like the Maccabees, Dizzee Rascal and Gallows- but this wasn't it. The Underage is aimed at the young and music-savvy, so the lineup included everyone from well known on the NME and Converse stages to very new faces on the Music Space stage.


TOPMAN NEW MUSIC STAGE

The best stage by far was the Topman stage- THE ANTI caught a good few bouncy bands there. Nick Harrison- a fairly new comer but a good start to the day- was the first to play there. The tracks on his myspace aren't even a fraction as good as he and his band sound live. They got the day going in perfect style, a person favorite being 'Summer', which is about the summer holidays- perfect for a crowd so young.
Also on this stage were the brilliant Cheeky Cheeky and the Nosebleeds- it was great to see them live as there is so much hype around this band. 'I've Grown Quite Fond of You' and 'Slow Kids' were the best songs of their set. If you haven't heard of this jumpy 5some then check them out- they are mood lifting and got the crowd going. Others playing there included Team Waterpolo, the brilliant synth-pop rockers who seem to have sprung from nowhere, along with other new faces like Pull in Emergency, the Rascals and the Rifles. By far the best set on this stage was Florence and the Machine, who packed out the tent and completely blew the crowd away. Mesmerising vocals in Between Two Lungs and Girl With One Eye and matching mind-blowing energy in Kiss With a Fist make Florence a perfect live performer- she's edging in at the top 50 chart right now so if you're planning to see her in her current tour I'd advise grabbing tickets as soon at possible

NME STAGE
Now before you go assuming THE ANTI's opinion of the NME stage may be biased, understand I am trying to be as professional as possible, but it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say this tent had an awful atmosphere. Admittedly, I only saw a bit of this tent but during frYars set there were more walking out of the tent than coming into it. That's not to say frYars is bad- he is an inspirational young artist with a lot of talent- but there were technical difficulties to begin with and the music isn't much to jam to. Although the bill was set to be decent, the atmosphere was dull and hardly anyone danced.
This went on until Foals set, when things got so wild one of the barriers broke and Yannis had to ask the crowd to move back, that things picked up. Foals enegry and jumpy set managed to save the day, although timing did clash with Gallows so they lost audience towards the end.

CONVERSE CENTURY STAGE
Gallows, Dizzee Rascal, The Maccabees, Bombay Bicycle Club... All the big names played this stage. As it was an outside stage, the bigger crowds came here. The Maccabees saw a sea of umbrellas due to rain, and then a sea of hands making heart shapes during 'First Love' when the rain cleared up. Dizzee Rascal was a time for the Indie Limeys (yes I just said that) to bop around and admit to knowing the words to hip-hop songs. Dizzee suprisingly drew a massive crowd dispite being the only r'n'b artist on the bill.
The atmosphere was great at this stage and it surely had the most photography and news coverage. The band who most surely stole the show were the headliners- the of course wonderful Gallows. Frank Carter jumping into the stage and directing the crowd into a circle pit was a huge hilight, but the thing that made this band's preformance so epic was the massive circle pit which lasted two whole songs.
Although video footage captures the size pretty well, it doesn't show the feeling. Down in the crowd was utter madness as everyone sprinted round. The entire thing resembled a P.E. lesson in skinny jeans.

Although it would have been great to have seen newer acts on the Domino and Redbull stages, there simply wasn't enough time. The day all in all was great, everyone there seemed to love it- from the random guy dressed as a hot dog (there's always one...) to Frank Carter himself (who, as the crowd cheered, mocked us and said " 'woo' You sound like you're on Blind Date!'). Underage 2009 is sure to be an even bigger success, so get your early bird tickets as soon as they are announced!

CHEERS, THE ANTI x

Sue and the Unicorn

Sue and the Unicorn is 'Sue Denim' of Robots in Disguise's solo project for when she's not working with 'Dee Plume', other RID member.
A mix of Sue's cute voice, upbeat tempo and accoustic melody makes Sue and the Unicorn worth checking out.
She's doing a mini-tour, starting on the 8th in various venues;

8 Aug 2008 BANGOR, NORTH WALES, UK:The Menai - FREE ENTRY - 9pm

10 Aug 2008 LONDON, UK: Goldmine @ Tommy Flynn’s - £5 - 10pm

11 Aug 2008 WEYMOUTH UK: Sunbeams, Unicorns & Brewster Mccloud @ Queen’s Hotel - £2 - 10pm

12 Aug 2008 BOURNEMOUTH, UK: I Dreamt Of Pigs Last Night @ iBar - £3 - 10pm

If you're not in London enjoying the Underage on the 8th and fancy a bit of new music, this is an event not to be missed.

US of Alternative - America's booming music scene

So yesterday I'm looking for a pretentious arts magazine in some scummy news agents- no such luck, they only seem to stock Pick Me Up and Love it!- when I stumble across NME, screaming the headline '10 BANDS MAKING AMERICA COOL AGAIN'.

SHIT was the first word crossing my mind, as the new ANTI contributor had sent us his own version of a 'New Cool America' article, only weeks before and I hadn't put it up yet.

So just to be clear, this is NOT a copy of NME's article, this is the new ANTI contributor, Robert Venning, showing his recommendations of hot new American bands, before that issue of NME had even hit the shelves.

Cool America
Is American Indie music making a triumphant return?
Considering that we haven’t had a true invasion of great American music into the British music culture in a good 3 or 4 years the recent deportation of music coming straight from the bosom of Uncle Sam has been more than long overdue. Bands such as MGMT and Black kids have been storming the charts and our ears with music made the American way. The flare and charm of apple pie and the 50 stars on the flag will never be lost on British ears and the music being churned out in 2008 is no exception.

MGMT
Future Hippies of Brooklyn
Unless you hate your ears and are blind you won’t have missed the epic rise of MGMT. Though they remained the USA’s best kept secret for 5 years (2001 -2006) they have finally come out of their shells and rocked the foundations of modern music with psycho-prog extravaganza "Oracular Spectacular". With a stack of songs underneath their belts "Time to Pretend, Electric Feel" they are set on world domination. Having already Supported Radiohead on their world tour in Manchester and putting in Jaw dropping performances at Coachella festival earlier this year and at Glastonbury MGMT are a band to watch throughout 2008.

Black Lips
Comedy is the Remedy
Though they are less well known Atlanta’s Black Lips a band who are more than deserve of the United Kingdoms praise. The are a band oblivious to the boundaries of comedy, melody and structure. Being dubbed as "Flower Punk" their raucous comical lyrics and gentle undistorted melodies flow like piss in a strong breeze, catching the listeners attention in due course. Having just released their UK single "Bad Kids" a typical Black Lips style mixture of drunken punk shouts and sun tinged melodies topped off with a xylophone hook in the chorus Black lips will are set to become a band that will always be with us in our ears and our hearts.

Fleet Foxes
Nature Music
Hopefully most people who are reading this have not heard of Fleet Foxes who can easily be called one of the most interesting and maybe even exciting bands of 2008. Combining their beautiful sweeping acoustic melodies, deep percussion and strong organs to create who and what Fleet Foxes are. Alike Black Lips and unlike MGMT Fleet Foxes have not received a lot of airplay or video play but recently their new video for future single "White Winter Hymnal" has been featured on MTV Two’s Spanking New Music. With touring dates set all around the world be sure to catch Fleet Foxes this year.

Just as an addition to this review- I'd like to add that America has also bought us the pure Rock and Roll Cage The Elephant- surely one of the best albums this year has come from them. Hits like don't-give-a-shit anthem In One Ear have given America a good name in music. Another band to break the British music scene from across the pond recently are Born Ruffians. Cute riffs, yelping backing vocals and singer who isn't quite understandable don't seem like a good combination on paper, but BR are possibly THE ANTI's favorite band right now. As with CTE, Born Ruffians debut, Red Yellow and Blue, is probably one of the best albums this year. Of course, we can't forget Vampire Weekend and Black Kids, who have taken the music world by storm- both underground and then radio. All these bands have given us new hope for the ever-growing USA music scene. Prehaps one day we will never have to listen to another tallentless Jonas Brothers track, or yet another Doo-Doo-Doo-Doo awful American band.

But while Paris Hilton, Britney Spears and Ashlee Simpson still insist on dominating American charts, the American music scene will never truly achive Nirvana in our oppinion.

ITUNES LIVE REVIEW: The Little Ones, Peggy Sue and Ava Leigh

ITUNES LIVE REVIEW:
The Little Ones, Peggy Sue and Ava Leigh.
Last night, THE ANTI had the pleasure of sneaking into Koko Camden, despite our, ahem, invalid IDs. The beautiful venue that night payed witness to the 23rd gig of this month for the Itunes Live festival, which this year hosted massive names like the Ting Tings, Sam Sparro, CSS and Paul Weller. Last night, however, they opened their doors to a very different corner of the musical spectrum; the lesser-known, up-and-coming artists.

The night started off with the wonderful girls from Peggy Sue, which I think were formally known as Peggy Sue and the Pirates. Now, imagine Kate Nash and Florence and the Machine do an acoustic set. Now imagine their lyrics are more interesting, throw in a few harmonies and make it a little more down-tempo, and you'll probably have a sound in your mind very close to Peggy Sue's cute sound. One of the best new acts I've heard this year, Peggy Sue bought their bin along, which they used for instrumental purposes, along with a keyboard you blow into. It's different to everything circling the music scene right now and these are definitely expected to do well, as they have had big support slots next to artists like Kate Nash. Check them out because they're ones to watch.

Next up was Ava Leigh, who played an acoustic reggae-pop set. We have matching haircuts, Ava, high five. Ava herself is stunning and carried the show along well, although acoustic isn't ideal to dance to, nor to jump around to which is pretty much THE ANTI's ideal gig-watching state. Her cover of Mas Que Nada is a nice track to check out, along with Rollin'.

Finally, The Little Ones took to the stage for an immense set. If you haven't heard of The Little ones, they sound like Vampire Weekend, Band of Horses and a pinch of the Shins all put in a blender and sloshed around a bit. A nice beat and pretty vocals makes this ideal jumping and dancing music, which is pretty much all that one can do in the front row, and it must be said they have shit loads of energy for a band who sounds so laid-back. The great thing about The Little Ones is that even if you don't know all the words to their songs, you can still sing the backing vocals in the chorus, like in Morning Tide, which they opened the show with. I seriously recommend you buy some of these guy's stuff because it's very summery and sweet- get on it now on their Myspace.

One last thing before I go- if you're going to the Itunes festival, which is coincidentally being FILMED- why the FUCK would you just stand there like a boring sod? What's the point? The bands feel less accomplished and it brings down the tone on the whole thing. If you want to get mentioned by the band, as ahem, the ANTI might have, dance crazily and scream constantly.

Note: I will put pictures up to accompany this when people have uploaded them

music snobbery and tjs

You know when you think you're doing well at something, like a painting or something, then you look over at the person next to you's painting and you realise yours is actually a bit of paper with a happy face drawn on it?

Yeah, I get that exact same feeling when I'm looking at Music Snobbery, the fast-paced, well known, informative blog with God-Knows-How-Many readers. So it's through this lovely blog I discover Liam Finn has an album. From being the Anti's one-to-watch a couple of months ago, Liam has gone far, and taking a look at this album, it's clear to see his interesting mix of his fast-paced and mellodic music is a treat to hear. Go download/buy the album, 'I'll Be Lightning', it's different and will have you wishing you could play guitar. And sing well.



Logging on to THE ANTI's myspace the other day, there's the usual collection of friend invitations of crap electro bands with 'Listen to our music and tell us what you think!' written undernieth, or club event myspaces which post annoying bullitens all the time. But amoungst these today was Thomas J Speight. I usually listen to everyone who adds THE ANTI myspace, even if I don't blog about them. Anyway, Tom stuck out in todays bunch, and after listening to only one track, I knew we needed him to debut THE ANTI's first interview.

Tom is also the frontman of the Beehives, an alternative indie-pop band who's not passed THE ANTI's radar quite yet. He's been gigging for a while and has upcoming gigs everywhere from Winchester to Putney. On our debut Myspace interview with the man himself, he answers us questions about inspirations, onstage preferances and of course his cute-as-a-button sweet music.



Q-Which do you prefer- band stuff or solo stuff?

A-It really depends on the songs, certain songs require me to play with a band and others just sound better me and a acoustic.

Q-Which do you prefer to perform live? and why?

A-I have found touring on my own, quite lonely so it will be sweet to start playing with my solo band in the November tour.

Q-You describe your music as 'minimalist' on LastFm. How else would you sum up your music?A-My songs are just simple pop songs I wouldn't say they were indie, folk or country but maybe a mixture of the three.

Q-What do you write about?

A-On my album there is a lot of autobiographical songs and then a few of them are about my friends, people I have met and places i have been. I am in no rush to write a political song.

Q-What's been the highlight of 2008 for you, musically?

A-I am not sure if I have had my musical highlight yet for 2008...I am sure it will happen soon.

Q-Who do you find most musically inspirational to you?

A-It changes on a regular basis at the moment it is Neil Young and Paul Simon.

Q-Do you have anyone you suggest the ANTI take a look at who's currently on the London music scene?

A-London has so much to offer at the moment with singer songwriters. I think my old uni friend Eugene McGuinness will be one to watch for next year. There is also a great indie band called The Branco Heist they are certainly ones to watch.

Q-Obviously, you're very physically attractive. Do you get any 'groupie' interest at shows?

A- A friend wouldn’t ask and a gentleman wouldn’t tell…

Q-What can we expect from you in later 2008 and 2009?

A-My album “Pictures For Houses” should be out by December or new year. I should be playing a lot around the UK with my solo band. I am really excited for the next couple of months…I can’t wait to get in the studio and have some fun with my friends.

Converse Fans Unite

Ok, hands up if you've heard the lovely Pharell-produced N.E.R.D, Santogold and Julian Casablancas track which is EVERYWHERE on the web?

Yeah, it's been online for a while, leaked or not is irrelevant because now there's a VIDEO. Lovely to see Julian, and to hear him. His smooth melodic tones are what makes this track, with Santogold's attitude-y lyrics and voice to top it off.

It's a great track and Julian looks incredible, although in slight need of a haircut

Take a look here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPZ5fnYFI4Q

Let's all listen to Surrey Power-Pop

What do the words 'Power-Pop' make you think of? Jumpy kids at a disco? Being 13? That's what I thought when I discovered the latest in the long line of London/Surrey-based up-and-coming bands. We Are the Ocean, You Me At Six, Consort With Romeo, Tonight is Goodbye, and my newly-discovered WeHaveAGetaway. I must admit I was a little skeptical on first hearing WHAG, but it pleasantly surprised me. A little bit Cute is What We Aim For, a little bit of a fake American Accent and a little bit of a summer feel. If you haven't given them a click already, I suggest you do. This band are bound to support someone huge and slowly rise to fame, like the rest of their breed have done. Cute electronic sounds, harmonious backing vocals and cool effects make downloading one of this band's tracks for summer a must-do.


Now if you haven't heard the pretty sounds of Consort With Romeo, where have you been? Have you heard of Myspace? Are you alive? They're pretty massive, and deserve it too. They have a nice vibe, jumpy rhythm and a pretty frontwoman, I'd like to see them live some day. I'm not going to bother pouring over WATO's Myspace for information to draw you in; all you need to do is hear one track and you're hooked. Or you could always watch the video of the epic anthem Nothing Good Has Happened Yet, the band's first single, because they are simply so cute it's hard not to sing along. As for the rest of the up-and-coming or up-and-come post-emo bands around, you'll probably find them a click away from any of the bands in this post so far, as they are all in each other's top friends.



Swinging over to the indie world, there's a whole new breed of up-and-coming/come bands over there too. Blasting out Cajun-style chords with simple but effective vocals, there's super-cute Lo-Fi Culture Scene, pictured right at a press shot on Hamstead Heath, shot by Joel K Crisp, apparently. Now complete with music video and soon an official single launch, LFCS are set to be massive, I'm predicting late 2008/early 2009. They're really young too, being 13/14, they're really sweet! Their launching their first single, Abstract, at a really good lined-up night at the Barfly in Camden. With support from Dash Delete and Flashguns, this looks like a night not to be missed. Dash Delete and Flashguns are two bands to check out very soon as both are taking the indie world by storm. Dash Delete have laid-back riffs and vocals that make you feel like lying in the sun, and Flashguns have Maccabees-style vocals and pretty, dancey tunes. If you're in or around London that night, I highly recommend you check out this event because it's set to be brilliant.

So this sadly draws an end to my small-band post, check back and add THE ANTI's myspace,
http://www.myspace.com/theantimusicblog

Awesome song meets awesome video

I'm sure most of you aren't as slow as me and have already seen Weezer's fucking brilliant video to the anthem of a single - 'Pork and Beans'. Seriously, it is just incredible. Putting so many Youtube sensations in one video it seems obscene, Weezer have managed to do that 'rock' bands keep doing recently where they split the song between different people miming, without looking a bit stupid (ie Nickleback-Rockstar). The video includes Chris Crocker, the Nooboyai guy, the Evolution of Dance guy, the Daft Hands-inspired lyric thing with the hands and much more.
Check it out here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9Y4BppbBFo
Currently I'm writing a celebration of Female Musical Inspiration and Achievement, so be ready for a big entry coming your way very soon.
THE ANTI x

Alive with the glory of emo/TRANSGRESSIVE YAY

Ok, I have an embarrassing secret to reveal. Instead of listening to indie and new music podcasts, reading other music blogs and checking around myspace, like I usually do, I've been listening to old skool emo. My Itunes Say Anything collection has grown from 4 songs to 51, and I've started to listen to Yellowcard and Taking Back Sunday, again. Christ, I had this phase! What is happening?

For all you sane music freaks, I suggest you check out the Transgressive (the label Foals, Young Knives ect are signed to) new signings. Guaranteed big hit for any of the bands in the next six months. I'd especially recommend looking at Jhonny Flynn, who is getting indie feet tapping everywhere. Everyone seems to have praise for this guy. Bringing folky-tunes back in skinny jeans, just the way we like it. Another amongst the new signings is Esser, which is actually blessed music. 'I Love You' was featured on the latest Filthy Few Podcast, and its sounding pretty good, reminds me of a mix between Dan Le Sac and Dizzee Rascal's one where he nicked that bit in the chorus. Sounds too vague? Listen to the song and perhaps it will ring a bell. While you're on Transgessive, have a look at Liam Finn, I'm loving his track called 'Lead Balloon'. As I said before, have a look at all the new signings because they will be hot shit by the end of the summer. That's it for now, sorry guys... Sing it with me now! 'Alive! Alive! Alive with the glory of love...'

A late review of LOTP.

If you haven't heard of Late of the Pier, you must have been living under a rock. They've been around for a while and have got a fair amount of airplay and music channel play. They're the sort of band you can't listen to without moving your feet or singing along. These gorgeous boys from Nottingham have that addictive nature which makes them such great listening. The new double a-side The Space and the Woods/Focker is bound to become massive and the album promised at numerous interviews with the band is becoming more and more anticipated.
Since the first release of The Space and the Woods, almost a year ago, it is amazing how far the band have come. They've evolved from a bedroom band to a record label-signed ballad band. I recommend anyone reading snaps up what they can of Late of the Pier and brings it where ever they go. Best thing to come out of 2008 so far is definitely Late of the Pier's increasing notoriety.

May has so far seen the release of some great albums. Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip's long-awaited debut album 'Angels' was released on 12th May and is looking at a top-10 place in the charts, which is well deserved. The album has obviously had alot of time, work and thought put into it. It's had 4 singles released so far off it, and it is clear that they have come far from the first hit single, 'Thou Shalt Always Kill'. Get this album how ever you can, it's worth it.
Hadouken! also released their debut album 'Music for an Accelerated Culture' this week. Sadly, they haven't quite been able to achive the greatness of past tracks, and the hype surrounding this album seems a little wasted. Anyway, its worth getting if you've been a fan over the last 2 years, just to remember thinking they were really cool.

Remember, if you are in a band or would like to reccomend one, don't hesitate to leave a link or comment on THE ANTI's Myspace, www.myspace.com/theantimusicblog

To Ting Ting or not to Ting Ting?

I recently read this review in 'Vice' magasine of the much anticipated Ting Ting's album, 'We Started Nothing'.

'Is it indie? Electro? Or some thrilling combination of the two? Beats me, but this looks like a fit bird and a gormless nerd clinging to the tatters of their dignity as they prostrate themselves before T4 and Topshop in the hope their record label picks up the option on the second album. Their songs slide off the brain like cold sick off a warm plate'

Although this is brilliant journalism, I can't help but disagree. What the songs lack lyrically is made up for with good music and the fact their strongs are well structured. All I can say is that their producer is tallented. They must be balls live though, as Katie plays guitar and Jules plays drums.. where's the funky basslines heard in 'Shut Up and Let Me Go', their next single?
Anyway, you should have a listen to 'Shut up and Let Me Go' because it makes you want to dance. The lyrics are terrible but if you don't focus on them, the song is tollerable. It's released some time soon. Coming to a stereo near you soon, prepare to have this record 'slide off the brain like cold sick off a warm plate', it will be only the lyrics sliding off mine.

Having a go at her Madge

Not the Queen of course, just Madonna. Yep, that's right, good OLD Maddonna, queen of Pop. I'm pretty sure that there's nothing natural about a 40-something-year old with a body as good as Kate Moss. You could say 'if you've got it... flaunt it!', but bear in mind, this woman has kids.

Fair enough her music is good. A duet with JT is hardly a bad thing, but does the belief that 'if you get your body out, you can sell your music' that seems to have infected the Hip hop/Pop industry have to extend to 40-year-olds?

I just don't think it's natural she's got her body everywhere and she's so old. Twiggy gave it a rest, and is now basking in the sophisticated M&S advert's limelight, can't Madonna PLEASE do the same?

Sorry for not blogging in so long and also sorry for this being a very short one, the ANTI is currently seeking out new bands fresh out the studio.

I'd like to take this opportunity to satirise the gem of a band which is Emmy the Great, they've been around for a while but they haven't had a lot of coverage lately. I hadn't realised they had a track up on their Myspace page, which they do. It's a really lovely Pixies cover, give it a listen and it might lift your mood, also you can download it for free.

If you're on Emmy the Great's page, it's just a click away from younghusband, a one man band with a sad, mopey but still good feel. French Grammar sounds very Beatles-inspired, and a few tracks are available to download.

A final apology for neglecting this blog, it will be back and packed as ever over the next few weeks.

Oh, and a final note- feedback is appreciated, this is why THE ANTI have a Myspace page, which you can leave comments on, rather than in my personal truth box. It's quite cowardly, and I'd appreciate people leaving feedback where it's wanted.

DANCE! DANCE! DANCE! DANCE!

Ladies and Gentlemen, I think I've found 2008's Big Summer Anthem. It's the cutest thing since last year's summer anthem, which was of course the Holloway's brilliant 'Generator' (unless you're going to credit Rhianna's EH EH EH as an Anthem).
Yes, it’s here, even if summer isn’t. It is of course Black Kids' ‘I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You’ (single cover pictured right). I know it’s been kicking around for quite a while but this uber-cute band are just becoming known. Recently appearing on Later With Jools Holland, Black Kids are truly headed for the top. They’re signed and they’ve got a few decent songs under their belts. They have a cute music video and sound a little bit like a mix between Late of the Pier and Joy Division (you’ll see what I mean about them sounding like LOTP when you hear their brilliant track Hurricane Jane). How can they NOT become massive? If you haven’t heard this track then get on their Myspace right now, seriously. There's also a brilliant dance-mix up on their page of 'I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You', mixed by The Twelves. Definitely check that out if you're into Justice's mixes or this band.

When speaking of summer music, there is one immediate thought which springs to mind. Festivals, festivals, festivals. However, which ever festival you're headed to this year there seems to be quite an odd lineup. Glasto's got Jay-z headlining the main stage for one night. He is also playing at 02 Wireless in July. Seeing as last year's Wireless lineup was so good, it was surprising to see such a bleak lineup. It's the sort of lineup which makes you shrug and look out of a window, rather than pounce on the £40-45 day tickets without a moment's notice. Reading's lineup is, as always, the cream of the crop. It's too painful to re account the lineup, as I'm sure other non-Reading-goers will agree. Have fun if you're going. Have fun with the lovely little NME stage. Peh.

A festival which is much more of a Pounce-fest rather than a Shrug-fest is this year's Camden Crawl. It just seems to have EVERYONE decent on the music scene right now, whatever you're into. With a lineup including the likes of Crystal Castles, Does It Offend You, Yeah?, Florence and the Machine, Operator Please, The Ghost Frequency, Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong, Robots In Disguise and so many more. It's across 2 days, and at £49.20 for a 2 day ticket, it's not that much for unlimited access to all Crawl venues, after show parties and daytime activities.

If you're into something a little quieter, try looking at the Redhill Redfest festival in Surrey. It's a small festival, with only 5,000 tickets. Prices are at a mere £64, including parking and camping. The lineup sees the likes of The Maccabees, Late Of The Pier and Lightspeed Champion, and for such a low price in such a small festival, this truly is too good to miss.

If you're not going to any festivals this year, you're probably wiser than the rest of us. You're saving the money and probably the tent too. I'm praying the Strokes will miraculously get back for a final album and decide to headline Reading next year. Never going to happen? Ah well.

I'd like to finish this 3rd edition of THE ANTI with it's first ever gig review. The gig took place on the 9th April and was of course the Teenage Cancer Trust comedy night presented by Noel Fielding. But no, I will not be reviewing the comedy, nor Noel's hair (which was nice, just a little too short), but I will be reviewing the music!

To the entire audience at the Royal Albert Hall (about 5,000)'s surprise, Razorlight's Johnny Borrell and Andy Burrows came on to play a two-song set including 'America' and 'Before I Fall to Pieces'. Surprising, it was actually very mellow and nice. It was an acoustic set, and although it was short, I've started listening to Razorlight again. Oh dear.

Anyway, Razorlight wasn't the music which blew 5,000 people away. It was the Mighty Boosh's first musical onstage performance which shocked everyone so much. Preforming 'Electro', 'Nannageddon' and 'Charlie' live for the first time, the Mighty Boosh were truly amazing. Noel Fielding was of course the Front man, with Barrat on guitar and later joining them was Dave Brown as a screaming backing singer. For the final song, Rich Fulcher also made an appearance in his famous Blue Suit. The gig was immense, and too good to sit down for, and a few of the audience in the Pit got up and danced.

Footage can be seen;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlRUnF72lW4 - 'Electro'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dm6q-MlaoIM - 'Nanageddon' only 1/2 :(

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_V7yuZQGc3A - 'Charlie'

Everyone who was already anticipating The Mighty Boosh's promised debut album this year will now be even more excited. I know the 5,000 people already are! The Boosh are set to play Big Chill this year, will it be comedy or music they'll be showcasing though? I guess we'll have to wait 'till summer. As if we weren't waiting for it already.

THE ANTI - MYSPACE!

THE ANTI's Myspace has now been launched, over weeks hopefully the mere 28 friends it has at the moment will grow.
Check it out at http://www.myspace.com/theantimusicblog
Any new bands can feel free to add that account.
THE ANTI x

A dash of Electro.

So Myspace have put a lovely little 'Get to Know Partyshank' sign on their homepage. Great. As much as I love Partyshank, I'd really love them not to go all mainstream and do a Crystal Castles and sell out a bit and appear on Skins.

(photo credit to Mackenzie Hodge)

I suppose I shouldn't be so cynical, as I heard of the Shankers through the medium of lovely old Myspace, as I hear a lot of music. I first heard them about a year, maybe a little less ago. First of all I was like 'what is this bullshit?!' but then I realised I quite liked the bombardment of noise. You can't dance to it, sing to it or talk over it, but you can enjoy it and shout 'OLD SCHOOL'. If you've not heard of Partyshank (where the HELL have you been?) then I suggest you get on their Myspace NOW! They are one of the most original and interesting bands around and I've heard their gigs are pretty crazy.

They've done well too, creating the genre 'Toystep' and featuring in oh so many of those much-loved pretentious art magazines. As much as they really deserve to do well, and are doing brilliantly already (the band have been played by Justice and now have their own merch available), I remember a day when they would respond to your comments or thank you for profile-songing them as soon as it happened. Now they're so big, the least recent comment on their page is from two days ago, and I'm writing this in the morning!

Anyway, enough of my complaining about loosing Partyshank and lets look at some rising Electro sensations, shall we? Let's start with one of my favorite unsigned bands, Daggers. Not sure if you can actually call them electro, but hey, they have TWO synth/keyboard players!

I had the privilege of seeing this incredible band live as they were supporting Robots in Disguise. They have such a brilliant energy they bought the venue alive. The front man, Theo, was wearing only extremely tight trousers and a ripped waistcoat. Niiccee. Trust me, if you EVER get a chance to see this band live, grab it!

If you're more into poppy-electro, let's take a look at Absent Kid. The first track I ever heard was Shoot On Sight. It reminded me of Daggers, so I had a gander on their Myspace. Every song has a different feel, but it still has a little way of reminding you it's them, which I love about a band. Most of their tracks are available on Myspace for free, so what's to loose?

Also, I feel a bit bad for slagging off Ipso Facto last week, so have a little listen to them. They ain't too bad really.

Lastly, for those of you who are hating all this Electo nonsense, have a listen to Alexis Blue. I heard them on the lovely Filthy Few podcast, and then discovered that all of their music is available to download on Myspace. There are some really great songs up there. Quite Cajun Dance Party-esque but a little less uptempo. Still, great and worth a listen.

I will be making a THE ANTI blog Myspace page later this week and I will post the link on here.

Have a good week. I would love to heard from you via comments on this blog, any feedback is great, or recommendations of bands.

Stay safe, Thou Shalt Not Read NME!

The ANTI.

THE ANTI | NEW MUSIC BLOG NEW MUSIC BLOG!

Welcome to the first of my hopefully many rambling music blogs, my oppinion of the ever expanding Indie World.
Let me begin my explaining THE ANTI. The 'ANTI' comes from me hating NME, which seems to be the only thing anyone reads these days other than eachother's Myspace profiles. I got so sick of reading about these new fad bands everyone will like for 3 days and then drop, and simply reading NME's crap oppinion on everything.
I am inspired by the wonderful Filthy Few Podcasts, which seem to have a grip on great music, for instance they have been backing Florence and the Machine since day one and look where she's headed, straight to the top. Speaking of FATM, you should head over to her myspace page, there's some amasing tracks up there right now, my personal favirote being Girl With 1 Eye, which is avaliable to download for free on there.
Now, seeing as I'm posting this first THE ANTI out on 30th March, the wonderful Foals debut album, Antidotes will have hit the shelves, and although I havn't been able to get it (legally) yet, I've still heard some of the tracks. What confuses me is the number of tracks. 2 discs?! I love Foals as does everyone, but is this not a bit much? Anyway, from what I've heard it's full of anthems with enough energy to match our Hummer addictions and keep us dancing all night.
Someone who recently suprised me is Laura Marling, who seems to me to have come out of no where. She's a brilliant artist with an air of mystery about her, and I've fallen in love with her duet with the wonderful Mystery Jets. Keep an eye on this girl, she's 'going places'.
Speaking of Mystery Jets, they seem to be one of the only decent bands playing the Underage Festival this year. Seeing as the lineup was so awesome last year, why so shit this year?
Last year saw loads of big names (Pigeon Detectives, Crystal Castles, Blood Red Shoes, Late of the Pier, Patric Wolf, Foals, Jack Penate), and this year who's at the top of the lineup? Gallows and The Horrors. Where do they fit into the Indie stereotype of the Underage theme? Don't get me wrong, Frank Carter is amasing, I just can't see a massive crowd surrounding this band. And the Horrors? Well I suppose they walk hand-in-hand with a fellow band playing there, Ipso Facto. They baisicly are eachother but with a different set of gentials. Hoping to see bigger names than this at the Festival as more names are confirmed.
Ah, as my first entry to The Anti winds down, let's reflect on what we've learnt. Nothing? Well prehaps you should visit this page again, as I will hopefully be writing these weekly, so check back and keep listening to the sweet music mentioned on this blog.
Have fun kids, have a good week. And in the words of Dan le sac Vs Scroobius Pip, Thou Shalt Not Read NME.